


In The Middle | Soulmates AU

by Nyrob



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, Light Angst, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soulmates, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 17:37:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13816137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyrob/pseuds/Nyrob
Summary: SOULMATES. They’re real. All it takes is the first touch to know who is your fated one. Sounds lame, right? But it does not end there. With the first touch, each soulmate gets to know their counterpart’s deeply hidden emotions— something they keep buried within, no one taking notice except for themselves. As time passes, when the bond with each other grows deeper, they’ll be able to know their counterpart’s emotions with a touch no matter how hard they try to disguise it.JEON WONWOO. He sees himself as a boring person. Totally wrong when you have the right person with you.HIS PARTNER. An average person. It was always about something within her that showed off her appeal.





	1. Absence of Enthusiasm

**Author's Note:**

> The writing style I start with is pretty bland, I know. I'll edit chapter 1 when I have time. I hope you enjoy reading!

I walked through the village along with numerous students on their way to their schools. It was once again the first day of school, junior year, to be exact. As much as I dreaded this day to come, hoping to avoid school forever, I was destined to face this day.

I kept on walking until I noticed that the sun was already up in the sky, radiating its heat upon my body. 

_Why is the sun up so high already?_

Those thoughts were immediately pushed out of my mind as I felt the cool breeze on my skin, my hair going with the flow of the wind. 

I took a moment to stop walking, standing still, looking up to the sky. It was blue, puffs of clouds strewn across it, painting the sky. Birds flew by, its chirps heard throughout the place. Instead of enchanting me with the serenity it brings, it annoyed me because of the pitch of the chirps.

I sighed and went back to walking to school.

* * *

The hallway was full of bustling students, making me silently grumble. I made my way to the boards where the section lists were posted, barely being able to breathe as numerous bodies nearly squished me, trying to get a look at the boards just like me. 

I looked at the classes for 11th grade, seeing my full name after a few moments. Deciding not leave early unlike the past first days of school, I read who my new classmates were going to be.

“Junhui, Wonwoo,” I mumbled. I shrugged it off, walking off to my designated classroom. I slid the door open, managing to snatch a seat by the windows at the very back.

I plugged in my earphones, listening to various songs of my choice. As the songs on my queue got finished one by one, people started filling up the classroom. Not one face caught my attention, making me stare out the window. 

I was quiet the whole time, listening to music. My attention was snatched, however, when someone suddenly sat beside me. I looked to my side and saw a fairly tanned person, a male with black hair. 

“I’m Jun,” he smiled at me. Almost raising a brow, I stopped myself, I didn’t want to come off as rude. I told him my name with the most genuine smile I can muster and return to looking out the window.

After a few moments, the bell rang, signifying the start of homeroom. A teacher walked into the classroom, immediately quieting the students down. 

We stood up and greeted the teacher, most of the students laughed since they didn’t know the name of the teacher yet. I just let out a small puff of air, amused by everyone’s antics. 

We were told to sit down and to introduce ourselves in front one by one and tell a few of our hobbies. I looked at the seating arrangement, realizing I was the last one.

A tall guy stood at the front, he wore glasses and undeniably looked shy. I thought he was gonna stutter due to nervousness but he coped well.

“My name is Jeon Wonwoo, I’m 17. I like reading and games,” he said and rushed back to his seat. “Well, that was something,” the teacher lightly joked. 

The students introduced themselves one by one until it was Jun’s turn. “Hello, I’m Junhui. I’m Chinese and dancing is a hobby of mine.” The girls swooned over him, which was understandable.  _He did look nice, I guess_.

I walked to the front and everybody was quiet. That was my effect on people, I was strangely mysterious to them. 

I told them my name, my hobbies being “reading, listening to and making music,” getting some amused ‘ooh’s from the class. I rushed back to my seat after, not liking being the focus of attention.

* * *

Time passed by until it was time for lunch, a whole hour of break. I brought out my lunch box and phone to listen to music. My time of solitude was broken, however, when Jun decided to tap me on the shoulder.

“Would you like to join us? I noticed you didn’t have friends,” his voice had a teasing edge to it. “If it’s fine with you guys,” I mumbled. “Don’t worry about it. Come on, join us in the cafeteria. I heard Jihoon would like to know you, music and all that,” he added.

I raised a brow, “How did he know about my hobbies when lunch just started?” He chuckled, “Phones are very convenient, yes?” 

I hummed, slightly flustered. I put my phone back in my skirt’s pocket, standing up. “Let me carry your lunch box for you,” he said, grabbing my lunch box. “Ah, thanks.”

We walked through the hallways on the way to the cafeteria, getting numerous jealous stares from girls along the way. Jun’s face really is something.

Once reaching the cafeteria, my ears got annoyed once more with the noise coming from the students. “Chatterboxes,” I mumbled. Jun chuckled, he probably heard my mumbling. 

“I have her with me!” Jun exclaimed as he reached a long table. “Hello,” I slightly bowed.

“Are you the one that makes music?”  a small boy asked— I almost mistook him for an elementary student. “Yeah, I assume you’re Jihoon?” I asked. “Yeah, yeah, here, have a seat,” he smiled as he patted the seat beside him.

“Ah, Jihoon-ssi, you’re doing well!” a guy with slanted eyes teased. “Yah!” Jihoon exclaimed. Unamused, I looked at the guy with slanted eyes. “I’m Soonyoung!” he cheekily smiled after he caught me staring. 

“You guys already know me?” I asked. Everyone nodded. “You’re pretty famous, noona,” yet another small person said. “You are?” I slightly smiled as an effort of trying to be friendly. “I’m Chan,” he slightly bowed. 

I nodded, and took out my lunch box after, planning to eat. “What instruments do you play?”  Jihoon asked after I ate some of my food. “I play the flute, piano, guitar, and violin,” I shrugged. “Woah, since when did you start playing instruments?” a guy asked. “Wait, can everyone please introduce themselves? I’m having a bit of a trouble here,” I sheepishly laughed.

“Ah, yes, of course! I’m Seokmin!”

“I’m Seungkwan!”

“My name is Hansol.”

“Hi, I’m Myungho.”

“I’m Mingyu, nice to meet you!”

“Call me Jisoo.”

“I’m Seungchol, this is Jeonghan.” 

“Nice to meet you guys,” I slightly smiled. “You, Wonwoo, and Jun are classmates, right?” Seungchol asked. I nodded. “Take care of them, yeah? They’re troublesome as time passes,” he teased the two. “Ya-Yah, I’m not troublesome!” Wonwoo protested. “Sure,” Seungchol snorted.

“Well, he’s saying the truth, we’re a bit handful sometimes,” Jun truthfully said. “Very true,” Hansol commented.

“I heard you can sing?” Seungkwan asked. I shook my head, “Whoever you heard from is wrong. Oh, and Seokmin, right? I started playing since I was six.”

“That’s cool!” Mingyu commented.  _That’s one way to put it, I guess._

“Do you play any sports?” Myungho asked. I shook my head. “I tend to stay in the house every day, so no.”

“Yah, Wonwoo. You seem awfully quiet today,” Mingyu brought up. “I just wanna go home,” he yawned. “Same here,” I mumbled. 

“Doesn’t it feel nice that we get to see each other almost every day again?” Jeonghan asked. “We saw each other every day even during vacation, what are you talking about?” Wonwoo deadpanned. Jeonghan just nonchalantly shrugged. 

“Chan, you’re surely not an eleventh grader. What’s your batch?” I asked as I noticed how young Chan looked. “I’m an 8th grader!” he piped up with a smile. “Wow, you’re… young?” I blurted out, not knowing what to say. But apparently, it was funny enough for everyone, including Wonwoo who tried to stifle a laugh. I should really get myself some sense of humor. 

I continued on eating, participating in their conversation from time to time. What a silly bunch they are, never losing a topic to talk about.

* * *

Before lunch ended, I learned that we were all in different batches, only small groups in every batch except for the first year of middle school. Chan is all alone in eighth grade (he didn’t stop whining about it). Hansol and Seungkwan are classmates as 9th graders. Mingyu and Myungho are classmates with Seokmin as their batchmate in 10th grade. The 11th graders are me, Jun, Wonwoo, Jihoon, and Soonyoung. While the seniors are Seungchol, Jeonghan, and Jisoo.

I haven’t even known yet how they all met each other, but they did say they saw each other every day during vacation. 

Neighbors, perhaps?  _That… that would be such a handful for one street, I doubt it._

I walked with Jun and Wonwoo to class, guess I already know who I’d look for during group activities. 

Back in class, it was still a day of orientation. We all met our teachers in different subjects;  _it was boring_. My hands were itching to either grasp an instrument or a book. 

When it was finally dismissal, I let out a contented sigh. It was time to go home, to play instruments! 

I put on my bag and stretched a bit, I did nothing but look out the window the whole day. When I was about to leave, I was stopped by Jun and Wonwoo. 

“Would you like us to walk you home?” Jun offered. I kindly shook my head and said, “No, thank you. Maybe next time?” I’m paranoid around strangers, _even though Korea is a safe country._

Jun looked unfazed, not offended, and smiled, “Alright, see you tomorrow!”


	2. Quickly Warming Up

I got home and went straight to my room. My brother was probably in the family studio or something. 

Given the fact that my parents were good with music and made good money off it, our family did slightly better than average families. Everyone in this household is affiliated with music, one way or another. My mom is a music producer, my dad is a recording engineer, while my older brother is an upcoming music producer like mom. 

I changed out of my uniform into casual clothes, then went to lie on my bed. I stared at the ceiling, attempting to entertain myself with it.  _Oh, joy. This is so much fun!_

Sighing, I sat up and took a look around my room. My laptop was there on the desk but I don't really have anything to do online,  _I don't even have friends._ My bookshelf stood in its glory but it didn't contain any new books yet. I'm not even in the mood to re-read my old books. My eyes searched the place until it landed on my violin case.

I grabbed my violin and plucked the strings a bit, thinking of a piece to play. Classical? Jazz? Pop? I sighed, just deciding to put the violin back in its case. Nothing is really appealing to me right now.

Strangely, I felt lonelier than usual.  _Is that even a thing?_

Might as well go to the studio. 

* * *

“Jiyeon?” I called out as I knocked on the door. “Come in!” I heard his muffled voice. I opened the door to see him sitting on a stool, playing the drums. 

“It’s been a while since you played the drums,” I commented with a raised brow. “Mhm, I remember you saying it was ‘cool’ when we were young,” he teased. “My point of view still hasn’t changed,” I chuckled as I sat on a couch. 

“Why are you here?” he asked as he sets down his drumsticks. I shrugged, “I felt lonely,” gaining a raised brow from him. “You? Lonely? That’s strange, you love being alone,” he said. I felt tempted to correct him by saying ‘loved’ but I bit my tongue. 

“Well… wanna learn how to play the drums? I’ll teach you three days a week,” he smiled. I smiled back with a nod, “I’ll take the offer.” To make long things short, that counted as my first day of drum lessons. Jiyeon taught me how to play the drums until it was dinner, the time when our parents arrived from work.

“How was the first day of school, dear?” mom asked. “It was alright,” I shrugged as I played with my food. “Did you make new friends? It’s hard being a new student,” dad sympathized with me. “I guess? I met some new people,” I mumbled. 

“Yah, who knows, you might meet your soulmate here,” Jiyeon sniggered. “We don’t talk about that!” dad lightly hit Jiyeon, making us chuckle. “But think about it, dear, you might meet _him_ or _her_ here,” mom dreamily sighed. “Shouldn’t I be the one daydreaming and not you guys?” I slightly smiled. 

“She’s right! I can’t bear this talk with my little gi—“ 

_“—Dad, we agreed you’d stop calling me that.”_

“Ah, yes, sorry.”

* * *

I yawned as I stepped on the doorstep, the sun was nowhere to be seen, instead, the clouds were fluttering around in the sky. I walked to the sidewalk, seeing yet again students from the same school.

I enjoyed the quiet, cloudy atmosphere the environment gave until I felt someone walk beside me. I looked to the side and saw Hansol. “Good morning, noona!” he cheekily smiled. “Morning, dongsaeng,” I replied with a small smile. 

“You walk to school, too?” he asked. “Yeah, that’s how people quickly inferred I’m a new student, remember?” I said. “Ooh, right. You see, all of us are just on the next street to yours,” he said.

“Really? That’s a handful,” I commented. “Yeah, they all grew up with each other since they were in their nappies. Except for me, Jisoo-hyung, Jun-hyung, and Minghao-hyung,” he explained. “Do you mind telling why?” I asked. “Nope, not at all!” he smiled. 

“Jisoo-hyung and I are from America. Don’t be weirded out when he gets called Joshua while I get called Vernon, those are our English names. Meanwhile, Jun-hyung and Minghao-hyung are both from China,” he said. 

 _“Then, you speak English?”_  I smiled as I spoke in English.  _“Yes! It feels good to know someone else other than Joshua-hyung speaks English!”_  he enthusiastically exclaimed. I chuckled at his reaction. 

"But, I may like speaking English, heck, I'm even not fully Asian but I like Korean customs more, you know?" he said with a contented sigh. "Why'd you say it like you've been keeping it to yourself this whole time?" I asked, curious. "Others just like teasing me about not being fully Korean, it hurts sometimes," he mumbled. I raised a brow at this,  _looks like this has been going on for a long time._

"There's nothing wrong with not being fully Korean. They just make it look like so. If someone's bothering you, don't be afraid to tell your hyungs, okay? I know we just met but that type of bullying is  _really_ unnecessary, don't be afraid to come to me for help, too," I slightly smiled in hopes of comforting the disheartened boy. "I'll keep that in mind, noona," he smiled brightly.

* * *

 

I walked straight to my classroom to see Jun, Minghao, Jihoon, Mingyu, and Wonwoo around the area of the last row— where Jun and I were seated. “Morning!” they all greeted, so I greeted back and went to my seat. 

“What’s up?” I asked. “Just talking about the upcoming music festival near here,” Jun said. “There’s a music festival?” I perked up. “A local one, yeah,” Wonwoo added. “But it’s still a music festival, though,” I reasoned. “Jihoon’s performing!” Mingyu brought up with a shit-eating grin. “I think you forgot the fact that Jihoon will be bringing his guitar to the festival, hmm?” Wonwoo teased back. After hearing this, the color from Mingyu’s face disappeared. “A-Ah, I think somebody’s calling me,” he said before running away from Jihoon’s sharp glare. 

“That was amusing,” I commented. “Tom and Jerry, we’d like to say,” Minghao chuckled. 

“They’re still currently looking for more local artists though, or people that are just willing to perform,” Jihoon said. “Really? When’s the festival?” I asked. “It’ll be after three months, advertising hasn’t even started yet,” Jun said. “I’m actually hesitating about performing alone, I’d like it better if I were in a band. Problem is, we don’t have a drummer,” Jihoon sighed. “None of you know how to play the drums?” I asked, surprised. “I do, but, I’m the lead singer this time,” he reasoned. 

“Maybe I can be the drummer?” I blurted out. _Oh fuck, why did I say that?_

“Really?” Jihoon perked up. “Yeah, it’s still three months away, right? I’m having lessons three days a week from my older brother,” I shrugged. “That’s cool,” Jun commented.  _I guess?_  

"Jihoon-ssi! Our class is starting soon!" Soonyoung exclaimed as he appeared by the doorway of our classroom. "Oh, really? Alright, I'll be going now," Jihoon said as he excused himself to go back to his classroom. "Then that means our homeroom teacher will be here, too," Jun groaned. "Ah, I might be late, I'll go now, too!" Minghao hurriedly exclaimed as he left, too. Wonwoo then went back to his seat while I brought out the stuff needed for the first subject after homeroom.

But the person that came in was not our homeroom teacher, but instead, it was our English teacher. "Good morning, your homeroom teacher is not here today, so I'll be taking over for now. It also happens that your next subject is English, right?" she said as she walked straight to the teacher's desk. "Yes, teacher," our class chorused. "Great! Well, you'll have your election of class officers next week. Also, the local music festival is looking for performers! They're willing to take in performers from this school," she smiled brightly.  _Ah, it's so early and she's smiling already._

We were given ten more minutes of free time (which I spent by trying to doze off but unfortunately ended as a failure) before our English class started. 

 _“She sells sea shells by the seashore,”_  our English teacher recited as she wrote the tongue twister on the whiteboard. “Our first meeting won’t be really a class first, I want to know how fluent everyone is in English, first,” she continued. I weakly yawned after, the lack of sleep was catching up with me. I shouldn’t have stayed up late reading.

“You over there, are you bored, miss?” the teacher said as she noticed my yawning. “No, not at all,” I answered as I stood up from my seat. “Alright, can you read the tongue twister without any errors?” she asked. I quietly sigh and did as told.

 _“She sells seashells by the seashore,”_  I read.  _“The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells,”_  I continued, getting a smile from the teacher. “Good job! You may take your seat. Would anyone else like to try?” she asked with her back turned on the class as she wrote the full tongue twister.

The class turned quiet. “No, thank you, teacher,” everyone answered. “I won’t take no for an answer, what about you?” the teacher insisted as she looked at Wonwoo. 

Wonwoo sighed as he stood up, trying his best to read the tongue twister. He had difficulty differentiating an ‘s’ sound from an ‘sh’ sound, and was slow with reading, but never did he wince or look embarrassed. I smile at the way his confidence didn’t falter as he continued reading.

"-I'm s-sure she sells sea...shore shells," Wonwoo read before immediately taking a seat, looking slightly flustered. "Good job, there's always room for improvement. Last, what about you?"  _Oh, God, she never stops smiling._

* * *

“Hmm, we still have some time left. What should we talk about?” the teacher asked as she leaned on her desk. “Miss, what about soulmates?” someone suggested. “Ah, yes, of course. Soulmates! Does anyone know how they work?”  
“It’s when two soulmates touch each other for the first time and in their mind, they get a visualization of their soulmate’s emotions,” Wonwoo recited. “And they can continue to do this if their bond grows deeper,” Jun continued. 

“But is it possible for someone to be soulmates with someone that isn’t their soulmate?” I asked. “Nope, glitches in relationships are just an urban legend,” the teacher answered. 

“What do you think about soulmates?” Jun asked as he turned to face me. “Hmm, I haven’t really given it much thought,” I shrugged. “My life really doesn’t revolve around soulmates, you know,” I added. “Hmm, you have a point,” he hummed.

“What about you?” I asked. “What about me? Well, I certainly can’t wait to meet them, of course,” he cheekily smiled. I playfully rolled my eyes, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll see yourself quickly warming up to the members because... who wouldn't? Oh, and the flow of the story is a bit slow in the beginning but it will gradually speed up!


	3. It's a Small World After All

The three of us, me, Jun, and Wonwoo, were walking to the cafeteria with a silent atmosphere around us. While walking, my stomach grumbled. “Oops?” Wonwoo teased. “We don’t talk about this,” I whispered, making Jun laugh.

When we reached the table we sat in yesterday, everyone was there already. The two boys I was with immediately went to their own seats, leaving a vacant seat next to Chan. “Noona, sit here!” he beamed. I nodded with a small smile and did so.

“How was the first half of the day?” Seungchol asked everyone. “Don’t even mention it,” Wonwoo grumbled, making Jun and I snigger. “What happened?” Mingyu asked, curious. “He got called by the teacher to read a tongue twister in English,” Jun explained.

The others laughed while I contained mine. “Well, he did try his best,” I commented. “Yeah, that I can agree with,” Jun nodded.

“How about you?” Chan asked, making me the focus of the conversation. “Oh? I just did the same as Wonwoo,” I nonchalantly said. “But she was so cool, you know! She said the whole tongue twister before the teacher was even able to write it on the whiteboard,” Jun exclaimed. Wonwoo nodded along. “You can speak English?” everyone else exclaimed. “Everyone can,” I sarcastically said. “No, no, we mean fluently?” Seokmin asked, not understanding my sarcasm. “Yes, yes,” I nodded.

“Good for you guys, you weren’t humiliated or anything,” Seungkwan huffed. “Seungkwan, you weren’t really humiliated,” Hansol comforted him. “What happened?” Jeonghan asked. “It’s about our math teacher,” Hansol explained. “He thought everyone could still remember what we studied in last school year,” he sighed. “And guess who he called to answer a question? Me!” Seungkwan exclaimed, annoyed. We all laughed at his statement, making him smile.

* * *

 

Classes ended and we were finally allowed to go home. I was fixing my stuff and so was Jun when Wonwoo walked near us. “Let’s go? We’ll walk you home if you’d like,” he offered with Jun nodding along. “Yeah, Hansol said you guys are just two streets away from mine,” I said as I put on my bag straps. “Wait, really?” Jun exclaimed. “Mhm, I walked to school with him a while ago, actually,” I said with a nod.

“Let’s go to the other classrooms first, we usually walk as a group. Nobody would ever want to fight a group,” Jun said. I hummed, that is a very good point.

We first dropped by Chan’s classroom, their room was such a mess. “Did a tornado pass through? It’s just the second day of school,” Wonwoo commented. “Ah, hyung, you know how eighth graders are. Don’t say your batch wasn’t like this,” Chan countered. I smirk at this while Wonwoo just scratched the back of his neck.

“Hansol and Seungkwan are classmates, right?” Jun asked. I hummed in approval.

“Wait, how did you guys know my class? I don’t recall telling you guys my section,” Chan asked. “We scanned every classroom until we saw your weird hair,” Jun teased.

“Don’t tell me we’re about to look at every section of 9th grade, I thought you guys walk home together,” I whined. “We weren’t able to do so yesterday, so, umm, yeah,” Wonwoo said. “Isn’t that great?” Chan whined along.

We ended up finding Seokmin instead before the duo we talked about. “Oh, we’re about to walk home now?” he asked. “Yep, we’ll walk her home first though, she’s just two streets away from us,” Jun nodded. “Ah, so she’s the new person we heard about weeks ago?” Seokmin brought up. “You guys just never saw me, I don’t really go out,” I said, embarrassed. “There’s nothing bad about that, I barely go out, too,” Wonwoo said, in hopes of making me feel better. As thanks, I smiled at what he said.

* * *

 

We managed to pick up everyone and went out to walk home. The boys were noisy, their voices overlapping each other but their conversation flowed through with no problem. It amazes me, really. 

While walking back, we suddenly took a left turn instead of a right turn. “Where are we going?” I asked. “Ever saw the playground?” Joshua asked. I shook my head. “I never went out of the house, remember?” I said. The others chortled at this. 

Eventually, we did reach a big playground. I immediately walked to the swing, slightly smiling when I gingerly took a seat. When I noticed how quiet it was, I saw that the boys were just staring at me. “What? I love swings,” I reasoned out. They blinked and went back to their senses, entertaining themselves in the different spots of the playground.

“What do you guys plan on taking for college?” Jeonghan suddenly asked. “Music or psychology, I guess?” I shrugged. “Music was expected but why psychology?” Wonwoo asked. “Secret.”

“I don’t have any plans yet but I’m definitely trying for a scholarship through sports,” Seungcheol nonchalantly said as he hung upside down from a metal bar. “I’m taking foreign communications,” Joshua said, sitting alone on the seesaw. “Music!” Jihoon exclaimed as he sat on the other end of the seesaw. “Literature,” Wonwoo shrugged, he sat on the swing beside me. “Hmm, literature is nice, too,” I commented. “I’m undecided yet,” Jun sighed, looking up at the lavender sky. “We all are,” Hansol sighed as he followed, referring to himself and the younger ones.

* * *

 

“Hey, I live here,” I said and we stopped walking, their loud chatters stopping at once. I was about to unlock the door when it was opened by my brother. “Ah, no wonder it was so noisy,” he commented with a smile as he saw the group. “Oh, shit, Jiyeon?” Seungchol exclaimed. “Cheol! Holy shi— how are you?” Jiyeon smiled before going up to Seungchol for a hug.

“You guys know each other?” I asked due to my shock and for everyone else’s convenience. “Yeah, I remember joining this sports competition and I met this kid, we stayed in touch with letters and then moved to chatrooms, and until now, we talk each other,” Jiyeon explained. “Why didn’t you say your family moved here, man?” Seungchol asked, smile still not gone from his face. “I actually remembered just a while ago that you lived here, I was even about to ask you to take my little sister under your wing, but looks like you already did,” Jiyeon laughed.

“Yeah, I told Jihoon to get her, I remember you saying your sister’s name and that she played a lot of instruments,” Seungcheol smiled. “Ah, so that’s how it happened,” I said in understanding.

“So, where do you guys live? You’re all a handful,” Jiyeon smiled as he directed his attention to the group once again. “Ah, we’re two streets away from here, we all occupy the whole street,” Mingyu smiled back. “Mm, I see! Looks like I’ll be forcing you to go out of the house more often,” Jiyeon teased as he faced my direction. “Good luck with that,” I snorted.

* * *

 

“Good luck, indeed! You’re really going out in just a plain white blouse and pants?” Jiyeon exclaimed in disbelief. “What do you want me to do, genius?” I scoffed. “Find a pullover! And wear your glasses, you look better without contacts,” he advised. I rolled my eyes and went back to my room.

_I didn’t expect my Saturday to be like this._

Opening my wardrobe, I took out a beige pullover and wore it.

Sighing, I went to my desk and used my laptop’s webcam as a mirror.Ah, that's what we forgot to buy!  _A mirror._

Trying carefully not to poke my eyes, I took out my contacts. Wearing contacts has been such a normal thing for me that I don’t find it weird anymore. I got my round-rimmed glasses out of its case and wore it. It was a bit blurry at first so I had to clean it. I looked at the webcam one more time to see how I looked, and my brother was right. _When did he ever become good at giving advice for clothes, anyway?_

Before going out to face Jiyeon’s judgments, I readied my bag and put in the necessities (my phone, money, old pair of glasses, tissues, and wipes).

I went out of my room and walked into the living room where Jiyeon was waiting. “Definitely better! You should be thankful you have a fashionable brother like me,” he bragged with a teasing smile. “Thank you, oh so fashionable brother,” I snorted.

"Anyway, I'm off now! I'll text you when we're there," I shouted as I slipped on my shoes. "Be safe and I'll always be watching you all!" he shouted back before I went outside.  _That's actually creepy._

We were told to meet up at the playground so I headed there. When I did arrive at the playground, I figured we were still waiting for some people. Or at least, someone.

"Why is Seokmin hyung taking so long?" Chan whined. "He’s probably asking for five more minutes of sleep,” Joshua sighed. “Let’s go to his house, then!” Mingyu exclaimed.

* * *

“Good morning,” we bowed to Seokmin’s mother who opened the door. “Here to wake up Seokmin?” she chuckled at the sight of us. We all nodded. “Alright, you guys know where his room is— oh, you guys have someone new?” Seokmin’s mother said with surprise as she laid her eyes on me. “Ah, yes, hello,” I nervously laughed and introduced myself.

The boys went upstairs while I stayed downstairs because the kind woman asked so, apparently, she wanted to get to know me.

“So, you guys are the ones that moved in the street near here?” she asked. “Yep, my parents wanted to change neighborhoods so here we are,” I explained.

She was about to speak again when we heard numerous shouts and laughs upstairs. Wow, who knew how noisy 13 boys can be?

“That’s how they are, especially during summer,” she laughed as she saw my facial expression. “They knew each other since they were babies?” I asked. She nodded, “It just happened that every family in our street had a boy, but no matter the age gap, they all got along well,” she smiled.

We continued chatting until the boys finally went downstairs with Seokmin in tow. “Amazingly, all that took you guys half an hour,” I said as I checked my watch. Seokmin’s mother stifled a laugh beside me.

"Mom, we'll be going now," Seokmin said and we all bowed as we said our goodbyes. "Don't do anything reckless! Have fun!"

We all walked and waited at a bus stop, conversing among ourselves in the meantime. “This carnival opened just last week?” I asked. “Yeah, I heard they have popcorn,” Soonyoung exclaimed with excitement. “Popcorn?!” Seungkwan and Hansol exclaimed. I chuckled at this. 

When the bus arrived, we all occupied the seats in the back, extending up to near the middle. The seats at the very back were four, while the remaining seats were just individuals.

The one that sat behind me was Mingyu who never stopped talking. “I heard the rides are fun there!”

We kept on talking about random stuff on the way. Until one specific topic snatched all of our attention.

“What if one of us meets our soulmates there?” Chan asked out loud. “I wouldn’t know what to do, to be honest,” Wonwoo shrugged. “I relate,” I commented. “I’d immediately take her on a date right there,” Seungcheol smirked. “That’s unfair! You always know what to do,” Seungkwan complained. “I’ll be his soulmate,” Jeonghan teased as he held Seungcheol’s hand. “Dude, I love you but no!” Seungcheol exclaimed with a laugh. “I’ll be Jun’s soulmate!” Myungho exclaimed with a shit-eating grin as he ran over to his seat and held up both of their hands. “Love, come here,” Jun went with the flow and hugged him as he made Myungho sit on his lap. We all laughed at the two.

The bus abruptly stops, telling us that we were at another bus stop near the carnival. "I don't really know if I'd like this," Jihoon mumbled under his breath as the carnival came to our sight. "Lighten up, hyung! What could ever go wrong?" Mingyu exclaimed with a scoff at the end.


End file.
